In a significant shake-up for the U.S. Women’s National Team, Vlatko Andonovski has stepped down from his role as head coach. This development comes in the wake of the team’s failure to progress beyond the Round of 16 in the 2023 Women’s World Cup, marking an unprecedented low point in their history. An official announcement regarding Andonovski’s departure is expected on Thursday.
Meanwhile, The Athletic reports that negotiations are underway to appoint Twila Kilgore as interim head coach.
Andonovski took over from two-time World Cup champion coach Jim Ellis in 2019 following Ellis’ resignation after clinching the 2019 title. However, Andonovski’s tenure did not yield similar success.
Despite leading the USWNT at two major tournaments – namely, the 2021 Tokyo Olympics and the 2023 World Cup – he failed to secure victory at either event. After a disappointing bronze medal finish at Tokyo Olympics, USWNT suffered a heartbreaking loss against Sweden during penalty kicks on August 6th at Women’s World Cup game which resulted in their elimination before reaching quarterfinals for first time ever.
The team managed only one win and scored just four goals throughout their campaign – their lowest tally ever recorded in a World Cup tournament.
Following his team’s elimination, Andonovski reflected on Fox: “We showed our grit, resilience and bravery today… Unfortunately soccer can be cruel sometimes.”
Former U.S star Carli Lloyd criticized her former teammates for lacking heart and displaying arrogance before they faced Sweden. Lloyd was part of USWNT that won bronze medal at Tokyo Olympics last year but she was not impressed with current squad performance during this world cup campaign.
After witnessing defeat against Sweden she reiterated her criticism saying “I think there’s a fine line between confidence and arrogance… I saw this team go in direction where values built into this team were not displayed out here.”
Despite these setbacks with U.S., international clubs have shown interest towards hiring Andonovski according to The Athletic report.
He concluded his stint with USWNT holding an impressive record of winning 51 games while losing only five out of total sixty-five matches he coached.